It Began as a Wish
by MasterFeign
Summary: For Albus, life can be tough living as the son to "the chosen one". A fickle wish prompted by his desire to stand out from his father, sends him and his good friend Scorpius on an unforgettable journey during their Hogwarts years.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'd like to thank J. K. Rowling for creating the Harry Potter universe, and I hope you enjoy my take on the events following the seventh book!**

"Al, it's time to get up!"

Al rolled over in his bed with dark circles around his eyes. He had been too excited to sleep much the night before.

"Al!" His mum yelled again.

"I'm up, I'm up!" He yelled back. He was tired, yes, but reminding himself as to why he had to be up so early, filled him with enough energy to keep himself from falling asleep again. It was going to be his first day at Hogwarts after all!

Shaking himself to be further invigorated for the coming day, he rose from his bed with a grin on his face and got ready for the upcoming journey.

* * *

Aboard the Hogwarts Express, and after waving goodbye to his family, Al finally sat in a compartment, though sadly devoid of anyone. He half expected to sit with his family but James was already busy with his friends and a number of girls whisked Rose away.

Al sighed and pulled out a book; still cautious that James would take it away from him as he had been doing so all summer long. He ridiculed Al for wanting to learn about his subjects before he even started school. The train began to lurch forward and Al kicked off his shoes and brought his knees to his chin, propping his book up, preparing to read the entire trip to Hogwarts.

The compartment door opened suddenly though. A blonde haired boy poked his head through.

"Can I sit here?" The boy asked.

Al looked up from his book and smiled politely. "I don't see why not," he responded. Al was glad he was finally able to share the compartment with someone else. He watched the other boy store his belongings and sit down across from him. At once Al noticed his piercing grey eyes. Unfortunately, ignoring Al, the other boy pulled out his own book.

Al fidgeted slightly, he did not want there to be an awkward silence following their initial meeting; he decided to break the ice.

"What'cha reading?"

"'A Beginner's Guide to Creating Your Own Spells', you?" The boy asked, glancing at Al's book as well.

"'Time Turners and Their History', not as interesting as yours though. I've heard creating your own spells is difficult."

"That's why I want to get a head start! What's your name anyway?" The blonde boy asked.

"Al Potter, you?"

"Scorpius Malfoy."

They both seemed to pause on the realisation to which their surnames held. Scorpius smiled sheepishly, unable to think of what to say. Al meanwhile, was trying to think of some sort of anecdote that was worth mentioning, about his realisation to whom he was sitting next to.

Over the years, both of their families have received considerable media attention. Albus recalled newspaper articles wherein Draco Malfoy had donated considerable amounts of money to various causes around the wizarding world. When asked if he was merely continuing his father's fascade, he declined the accusation and did not offer an explanation, instead continuing his charitable work.

Al, while fascinated by his father's stories of his time at Hogwarts. Admittedly, Al did not know much about the Malfoys. What little he did know was by way of his uncle Ron, who seemed quite biased when it came to the Malfoys.

After the fall of Lord Voledmort, Lucius Malfoy, who again was able to avoid prison, became a recluse in his own home. Perhaps to avoid humiliation and the public, the wizarding world could only speculate as to what went on in Malfoy manor. It wasn't until approximately a year after the fall of Voldemort, that in a fit of drunken rage, he burned down Malfoy manor, dying in the process. At the time, Draco had been out of the country for unknown reasons and Narcissa was staying with a relative. She was unfit to inherit the Malfoy legacy however, as she was mentally unstable following her husband's antics. Thus, Draco took it upon himself to rebuild his family's honour. Among other things, he had rebuilt Malfoy manor exactly as it was before, sans the dungeon.

Scorpius had heard about the Potters on nearly a monthly basis, which at times included a Weasley or two. Like the rest of the wizarding world, Scorpius knew about Harry Potter, 'the boy who lived' and what he accomplished nearly two decades ago. Scorpius recalled asking his father about Harry Potter. Draco's response was slow, somber and yet purposeful. Draco had respected the man and was glad Harry was making changes to the wizarding world; as Draco put it, it 'was for the better'.

At a young age, Scorpius began to understand the implications of being a Malfoy. While Scorpius may not have understood it all, for his father to inherit a legacy reviled by the majority of the Wizarding people, was a great burden. Unlike Draco's father though, Scorpius was never imparted the supposed importance of being superior to wizards and muggles for being a Pureblood. He wanted to love his son, not corrupt him. Despite this, Scorpius was still taught in the importance of the Malfoy name. He was often reminded of the importance of one day heralding the once prestigious name that he Draco, would hope to improve in his time.

Finally Al spoke up, "I guess we have a lot to live up to, huh?" He gave a wry smile.

"Yeah I guess… So what house do you reckon you'll be sorted in?" Scorpius asked, changing the subject.

Al frowned and looked down, clenching his fists, "I really don't know. My brother keeps saying I'll be in Slytherin though."

"What's so bad about that? My father was in Slytherin, and he turned out alright!" Scorpius countered, slightly raising his voice.

"I know. There's Severus Snape too, he was in Slytherin, and he helped my dad get rid of Voldemort. It's just that my whole family's in Gryffindor and I don't want to disappoint them."

"You may only be disappointing yourself…" Scorpius said smartly.

Al thought about this for a minute then finally asked, "And what house do you reckon you'll be in?"

"Slytherin." Scorpius said simply.

"Aren't people going to think you're just going to be like your dad or worse?" Al asked.

"Probably, I don't care though; I could ask you the same thing about you and your dad being in Gryffindor anyway."

Al understood what Scorpius had said, but that did not make him any less confused. He furrowed his eyebrows with his index finger and thumb, wondering about his predicament. He wanted to live up to his family's expectations and fame, he wanted them to be proud of him, perhaps even more so than the rest of his family. Could he achieve that in Slytherin? His father said he'd just be as happy if he were in that House after all. And Al knew that Slytherin wasn't all bad, even other Houses have sprung bad wizards and witches, but would he really find greatness in Slytherin? He would after all, be the first Potter-Weasley in quite some time to have been selected in a house that wasn't Gryffindor. Then there was this boy in front of him, so icily confident that he'd be in Slytherin. Scorpius intrigued Al…

"Well that's that then!" Al said suddenly, causing Scorpius to look up from his reading material. "I'll go into Slytherin with you too."

"You know the hat makes the decision right?" Scorpius reasoned.

With a mischievous grin, Al leaned in close to Scorpius placing his hand on the other boy's shoulder, his mouth near the other boy's ear, clearly wanting to tell a secret.

"My dad says the hat takes your choice into account," he whispered.

"Really?" Scorpius asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah-"

Al suddenly sprang back letting Scorpius go; a loud noise of someone opening the compartment door interrupted him. It was his brother, James.

"Oh dearest brother, may I so kindly bother you for-"

This time it was Al's turn to interrupt. "No you can't have any more of my money, you seem to 'forget' to pay me back, plus I wanna save what mum gave me for later."

"I am offended, young man!" James said mockingly giving an exasperated expression and straightening his back. "You, as a first year and my brother will need my help getting to know about the ins and outs of Hogwarts. Seeing as I'm starting my third year, I'm willing to help." James walked fully into the compartment now.

"I can get by just fine without you, thanks…" Al retorted.

"You misunderstand…" James said, walking forward pulling out his wand, "Petrificu-"

"Expelliarmus!" Scorpius yelled. A jet of red light shot out of Scorpius' wand causing James' wand to fly in Scorpius' hand. Stunned by Scorpius' quick reflexes and the fact that he hadn't noticed him before, James could only stand rooted to the spot, mouth agape.

"Finally noticed me have you?" Scorpius asked scathingly.

James, having gained some composure, glared at the blonde boy menacingly, then his eyes grew wide. "Hang on! You're Draco Malfoy's son." He spat, turning to face Al. "What the bloody hell are you doing in the same compartment as this loser? He'll just be like his dad, a muggle-hating-Slytherin!" He was raising his voice.

Al, amazed by Scorpius' tactics, finally gained the confidence to speak up again. Standing up and right in front of his brother, he poked James in the chest as he spoke. "Excuse me? Who was it that attacked me, and who was it that defended me? Just- just get out." Al grabbed James' wand from Scorpius and tossed it into the coach hallway. Al always had a short fuse with his brother this being no exception.

James gave Al a brief icy stare, glancing at Scorpius as well, who was still pointing his wand at James. He left their compartment quietly, leaving the door open, grabbing his wand from the floor and headed to where ever he came from.

"I'm really sorry about that…" Al apologized, walking towards the compartment door and shutting it before sitting down again. "My brother can be annoying. He must have lost a bet or something again…"

"Ah," was all Scorpius could say. Since he was an only child, he couldn't relate.

Al's eyes suddenly grew wide, "But wow! You know some magic already? That's cool!"

"Heh yeah, my father made it a point to teach me some spells before going to Hogwarts to defend myself." Scorpius holstered his wand. "Seems like that's not the case so far. I better not have to save you every time your brother comes by."

"Ha! Just you wait, I'll learn some useful magic soon enough, and I'll be saving your arse." Al retorted.

Their friendly bickering didn't last long until they began amicably talking about the year to come. Their musings were interrupted only by the trolley lady to whom they happily bought some sweets from.

It wasn't until the topic somehow meandered to the school's dress code, did they realise they had to change into their school robes. They changed just in time too, because the train was already slowing to a stop.

Students began filing out with the two in the midst of the sea of black cloaks, attempting to get off the train. Greeted by a loud booming voice calling first years, they made their way over to the origin of said voice, Hagrid.

Al began to wave both his arms frantically, "Hey Hagrid!" He called.

"Hiya Al!" Hagrid called back smiling.

Once it appeared that all first years were accounted for, Hagrid led them to the boathouse where the boats were already prepared for the first years.

Scorpius and Al ended up sharing their boat with two girls who seemed to be in an avid conversation of their own. They couldn't quite see the castle from where they were at the moment, but if James' written reaction from two years ago, was anything to go by, Al would not be disappointed.

"How do you know that big guy?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, Hagrid? My mom and dad know him, I guess. We see him every once and a while." Al answered. "He's not a very good cook though."

The boys remained silent as the boats began to move of its own accord. As the boats rounded the corner, the first years "Oohed" and "Awed". They stared wide-eyed as they got a full view of the castle in its magnificence. Its cobblestone and seemingly impossible architecture was a spectacle to behold as the setting sun seemingly melted on to its brick face.

Finally arriving to the castle, Professor Gilborn greeted the first years, addressing himself as the deputy headmaster. He gave the new students a quick explanation of the school and its houses and then led them into the Great Hall.

As if the outside of the castle wasn't dazzling enough for the first years, the Great Hall offered a golden swath of light from the floating candles and a starry sky as the ceiling. Professor Gilborn led the first years to the front of the great hall. The new students whispered in anticipation noticing the lone hat that stood on a stool.

Suddenly, a flap opened up, and the hat began singing. When it had finished the school clapped politely.

A woman stood up and cleared her throat. "Greetings everyone and first years," she spoke in a commanding yet warm voice. "I am Professor Meripen, your Headmistress here at Hogwarts. Before the feast begins, let us begin the sorting!"

The school erupted into cheers as well as jeers calling for the feast to start. The Headmistress sat back down again, cueing Professor Gilborn to start the roster. Acknowledging as such, he pulled out a long scroll.

"When I call your name," he announced, "Please sit on the stool and once you have been sorted into your house, indicated by the hat, please sit with them."

Even after his discussion with Scorpius, Al couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He watched as one by one the first years put on the sorting hat. After a moment, the hat called out their new house, followed by cheers from the respective house. Al figured he shouldn't feel this nervous as he was already confident in his choice, after all, the newly sorted students looked happy.

Finally, it was Scorpius' turn. The students seemed to fall silent upon hearing the boy's surname. He gave Al a wink as he walked up and sat on the stool. The hat barely touched the boy's head when it had called out: "Slytherin!". Wild cheers erupted from the Slytherin house, though Al could hear stifled "boos" coming in particular from the Gryffindor house. Scorpius sat down with his new house, happily accepting him as one of their own. Any evidence that Scorpius would not be accepted, due to his family's past, was not readily seen. Al couldn't help but feel a little jealous of their acceptance of Scorpius.

A few more names were called and finally, Al heard his own name. Walking up to the stool, he couldn't help but overhear whispers of 'another Potter?' and 'he looks just like Harry Potter, just without the scar and glasses'. He even heard cheers coming from the Gryffindor table as though it was expected he'd be in that house. He sat on the stool and Professor Gilborn put the hat on his head.

Suddenly he heard the voice of the hat fill his head. "Hmm another Potter-Weasley eh? You're a lot like your father too. Ah yes, I see you want greatness… "

_I don't want to be exactly like my dad_. Al interjected, seeing where this was going.

"Then where to put you... You have a thirst for knowledge and the desire to prove yourself, yes I see now..."

Al looked up at Scorpius who looked back at him. Was Scorpius trying to convey something, an expression, hope maybe? _I don't really want to be in Gryffindor like the rest of my family_, Al reiterated.

"A new chapter, as it were, yes that much is clear. Well then it's obvious- Slytherin!" The hat yelled out the last word resonating in the great hall.

A couple Gryffindors cheered, then quickly stopped as they realised Al wasn't going to be a Gryffindor. Even the Slytherin house appeared confused, though a good number did applaud him.

The professor pulled the hat off Al's head, and Al made his way to the Slytherin table. Despite what James was telling him about Slytherin, his prefect, who introduced himself as Corey McClaggan, gave him a warm handshake. They didn't seem evil at all.

"Welcome to our house," he whispered. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to be chosen for this house, but I bet it's cause you have too many relatives in Gryffindor. You can use that rivalry by not letting them win the House Cup again."

"Uh, sure," Al responded. He noticed devilish smiles from his fellow Slytherin, he didn't want to know what they were thinking. Al walked over to Scorpius. "Nothing to it," he sassed, making Scorpius laugh. Al playfully pushed his friend over for an extra seat.

Rose Weasley finally had her turn to be sorted. It was no surprise to Al when the hat called out Gryffindor. He cheered for his cousin nonetheless.

Once the sorting was over the headmistress went over some school rules and finally, with the formalities over the feast appeared in front of the students.

Dishes of beef, pork and goose were flanked by dishes of green beans, mashed potatoes and even a gravy fountain. This was what was only in front of two boys though. Looking around they saw many more unique dishes. They never hesitated for a moment to dig in, as they were quite hungry.

* * *

Plates empty, and stomachs full the two boys felt as though they only had energy left for sleep. Finally getting that chance, their Prefect led the rowdy and not so rowdy Slytherins to the dungeons once the feast was over. McClaggan showed them the boys' first year dormitory and promptly left them as firecrackers could be heard off in the distance.

Their room was simple and rectangular. A thick glass window offered a view into the Great Lake. The darker colours of the dungeon was eased by the reflection of the moon as well as the glow of the lamp light. The room housed four four-poster beds, nightstands, dressers and desks for each of them. Their belongings were under a respective bed as well. They sluggishly moved into their new home and got ready for bed, wondering who their two other roomates were.

Not soon after two other boys, quite evidently tired, made their way into the room. Al and Scorpius introduced themselves. The two new boys' names were Aaron and Xavier, muggle-born twins.

"Wait a sec!" Al suddenly realised, "James told me that his room had both boys and girls..."

"Well they must do things differently up in Gryffindor tower," Scorpius chuckled.

"Ugh gross!" Al said, making the boys all chuckle.

With lights finally out, they lay in their beds in the dark waiting for sleep to take them over.

"Did you really have to ask the hat to sort you into Slytherin?" Scorpius whispered towards Al, from the bed next to him.

"Not really, though I think it already wanted to put me in Slytherin anyway, but I wouldn't have it any other way," Al answered quietly.

"Same. Ready for tomorrow you guys?" Scorpius asked, yawning in the process.

"I hope s-so Scorpius." Al said, attempting to stifle a yawn as well. Aaron and Xavier agreed as well.

Tomorrow would begin their journey to becoming full-fledged wizards.

* * *

"No Al, that's the Goblin rebellion of 1453 not 1345," Scorpius reminded his friend.

They had just come back from Christmas break, and out of habit were reviewing each other's homework they had done over the holidays, lying on their beds with papers everywhere.

They had been at Hogwarts for four months now and the workload was already beginning to pile up between the pair of them.

The day after they were both sorted into Slytherin, they sent letters off to their families. James seemed less than thrilled that his brother was in the "wrong" house. Though he hadn't confronted Al about it privately. Instead this meant enduring some taunts from James and his friends, but it did help to have a gang of Slytherins nearby to back up the two boys as well.

What both Al and Scorpius were hesitant to write about in their letters home though, was about each other's friendship. While generally not a big deal for most people, the Potters and Malfoys were not exactly known for being the best of friends. This was promptly solved by James who seemed it quite pertinent to tell his family who Al was already hanging out with. Just like with James catching Teddy snogging Victoire at the train station, his plan backfired. Al instead received letters of congratulations from his mother and father, as well as his extended family (though not surprisingly Uncle Ron's response sounded more mechanical).

Even Draco Malfoy and his wife, Astoria seemed not to mind much, after receiving a letter of their own. Whatever reservations they might have had towards the Potters, they neglected to write in their responses.

"So how was your Christmas anyway?" Al asked, ignoring Scorpius' correction.

"It was nice. Quiet as usual. But I got everything I wanted." He handed Al's paper back to him.

Al rolled his eyes, "Everything huh? Christmas at my grandma and grandpa's house was like a riot. It'd be a miracle if I got peace and quiet for Christmas. Lily missed me though, I told her all about you, she's jealous that she's not at Hogwarts yet." He absent-mindedly corrected the year on his paper.

"Did you say how smart I was?" Scorpius asked jokingly.

"Maybe, you may never know," Al joked as well.

Scorpius laughed, tossing Al's quill back at its owner.

They didn't have long to review their homework however, as there was a Quidditch game to attend to. The day before Christmas break Slytherin and Hufflepuff were scheduled to play against each other. However, due to a heavy blizzard the game was postponed. Students complained that the teachers could have just put up an anti-freeze charm around the stadium, but the date was already set and rules were rules. It wasn't common to have a Quidditch match as soon as everyone got back from the holidays, but no one was complaining.

"Gah! We're gonna be late!" Scorpius realised.

"Well come on then!" Al dropped what he was doing immediately, and grabbed Scorpius by the hand, attempting to speed things up through the empty school corridors. Had this been anyone else, Scorpius may have felt annoyed or offended, but he was already used to Al's physicality. The boy was often times, boisterous, emotional and just plain stubborn. Some would have called this naive, but Scorpius understood Al to be more indifferent or care-free. It was a nice departure from his family's rigorous attitude. Being with Al certainly made Scorpius feel more care-free as well.

* * *

As the year came to a close, the two boys were nearly inseperable. After their exams (to which they studied quite hard for) they headed to the Quidditch pitch for the school's final game, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. They were about to ascend to the first floor for the year's final Quidditch match, Hufflepuff versus Gryfinndor, when Al noticed something and stopped, dropping Scorpius' hand in the process.

"You've seen this statue before, haven't you?" He asked Scorpius. He was referring to a bust of a slender looking woman

"Yeah, why?" Scorpius questioned back.

"Well her eyes are glowing blue. I've never seen a statue do that before."

"What?" Scorpius walked over to the statue to get a closer look. Al was telling the truth. "It's not some sort of joke by Peeves is it?"

"I dunno, maybe." Al took a closer look to the statue looking at it at eye level. "I don't see any writing on it either." He smoothed his two thumbs over the surface of the statue. Nothing seemed off about it, yet the glow of the eyes seemed ethereal, almost hypnotising. Without really thinking about it, Al pressed in on the pupils. They moved with ease as though they were some sort of buttons.

Al looked up after pressing the two eyes in. A door in front of them began to materialise. Unlatching sounds resonated through the hall, and finally a giant door swung open.

"Huh…" Was all that Al could say. "Well after you dear sir," Al said jokingly, motioning his hands for Scorpius to enter.

He obliged, curious himself, and stepped into a small room. He took out his wand and used the lumos spell as there was no other light source. Al followed right behind him, with his own wand lit up. One side of the room held large bookcases full to the brim with books. The other side contained various magical instruments of all shapes and sizes. The room however was covered in mountains of dust, as it had not been used in quite some time. Curious, each boy went to the opposite sides of the room to further investigate.

"What is this place?" Al asked.

"It looks like someone's secret stash, only they must have forgotten about it or something." Scorpius replied. He placed his wand on the side table in the room and pulled out a book from the shelf. He opened it up sending dust everywhere, coughing in the process. He spoke up again once the dust and coughing stopped. "I can't even read it, it's so old, I don't think it's English either. Find anything?"

"I wouldn't even know what half these instruments do," Al said. He too placed his wand on the side table so he could pick up one of the delicate objects. The first one he picked was a slender glass, containing some sort of mercuric liquid. It swished in the thin and long glass instrument as Al examined it.

"You know, my father never mentioned this room at all when he was here, you think we're the first to discover it?" Scorpius asked.

"Maybe, at least in a while. My dad never mentioned it either." Al responded, walking over to Scorpius curious about the books as well.

"We're like our fathers and the room of requirement." Scorpius mused.

At this, Al frowned a little, "I wish I wasn't compared to my dad."

"Hey now, me neither," Scorpius agreed. "You gotta admit though-"

Scorpius was cut short as suddenly both he and Al felt a sudden and sharp cold wind pass through them.

"Since when was this place drafty?" Al asked.

"Who knows. Anyway, we should probably head to the Quidditch pitch." Scorpius pointed out.

"Yeah… This place isn't as exciting as the Room of Requirement anyway." Al agreed.

As they were putting the items they held back, the cold draft reemerged. This time, hurricane force winds were pushing the two against the wall. The wind drowned out their yells of surprise and pain as instruments smashed on the ground and books fell off the bookshelf. The room was in utter chaos.

Suddenly, a giant gold chain fell from the ceiling, falling on both their shoulders. They heard a voice just as they were enveloped in an orb of white light.

"Gentlefolk, I pray you well and biddeth you of strong heart for perils of unkind await!"

* * *

"Oi! Wake up lads! There will be no oversleeping in my regiment." Al could hear someone saying, shaking his leg. "It's Zero Hour."

"Wah?" Al said groggily.

The man had already moved on, attempting to wake up others. As Al opened his eyes however, he couldn't help but feel completely disoriented. He couldn't recall if something happened in that secret room in Hogwarts. Al took a good look around; he appeared to be in a canvas tent, clearly no longer in Hogwarts. He looked around and saw the man who had woken him up. He was attempting to wake someone who looked a lot like an older version of Scorpius. Getting up, Al squinted at the other man, still clearly confused. He realised the man was wearing muggle military gear, but it looked rather dated compared to what muggles wore now. This didn't seem to add up at all, but he thought that that room must have had something to do with it. Al decided to take a risk with the other person in the tent.

"Scorpius, is that you?" He whispered

"Al?" The other one asked, slowly nodding, yet his voice shaking.

"Yeah. What happened, where are we?" Al asked.

"I don't know. Did you take an age potion?" Scorpius got up as well.

"No, did you?"

Scorpius shook his head.

"Soldiers, get yourself ready, Zero Hour commences in 20 minutes from now." A booming voice echoed through the tent.

"Soldiers?" Scorpius exclaimed wide-eyed at Al, no less the wiser moments ago.

"In your fatigues soldiers! The Great War ain't waitin' for yah!" The man exclaimed, popping his head in Al and Scorpius' tent again and quickly popping out.

_The Great War_, Al attempted to recall. Where had he heard of that before? Then suddenly he realised, his eyes widening.

"Scorpius, I think we're in the muggle's World War I."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'd like to thank everyone thus far who has read and or reviewed my story, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. This chapter also contains a brief fictional adaptation of battle in WWI thus, I apologize ahead of time for any historical inaccuracies.**

"W-what?" Scorpius said confused. "What year was that?"

"As early as 1914, I'm sure."

"What do we do?" Scorpius said with a tone of concern. He rubbed his face with his hands as though trying to wake up from a dream. "This isn't some joke of yours is it?" His hands were shaking.

Al couldn't help but look quizzically at his friend. The otherwise decisive boy he had come to know in the past four months had never seemed vulnerable or afraid. They were Slytherin after all; self-preservation was generally in their top interests. On the other hand, Al wondered himself, why he wasn't in full panic-mode either.

"Not a joke, no. I'm sure we can magic our way out," Al said. He instinctively went for his wand pocket, and froze, his wand wasn't there. "Ah! No no no no!" He stammered.

"What's the matter?" Scorpius asked, snapping his attention to Al, he had been eyeing the soldier gear placed at the foot of his bedding.

"I don't have my wand with me!" Al said trying not to panic. He started looking around the tent, hoping it was just lying somewhere obvious.

Scorpius also fumbled for his own wand, but like Al, came up empty handed.

"What does this mean?" Al asked, tossing random items now.

"Well it certainly means no controlled magic." Scorpius said.

"Controlled? You mean like we can still do magic, even without a wand?"

"Um, yeah," Scorius said pointedly. "That was like one of the first lessons we had, don't you remember? It's more intended for muggle children just starting out in Hogwarts anyway."

Al bumped his hand to his head, "ah, of course, I remember now. A person can do wandless magic if they are angry or scared or something."

The sound of increasing and frantic footsteps outside their tent brought them out of their conversation. They had to do something, anything. They didn't feel inclined to take part in a war and needed a means to escape it.

"Let's just put this stuff on so we can look the part, then take off," Scorpius suggested, pointing at their neatly folded fatigues and weapons at the base of their bed.

The two boys had trouble figuring out how to put some of the pieces on, and had to help each other in the process. Their predicament didn't help either as they were not used to their current height. Nevertheless, they managed. Finally equipped, they looked like any other muggle soldier. They wore a woollen tunic and accompanying pants, as well as a belt sac with a number of useful pockets full of necessities. They also wore a steel helmet, and carried a revolver, and rifle each.

Finally able bodied, they exited the tent and gained their bearings. They were overlooking a grassland with knolls poking up all over the place. A couple of trees dotted the area as well. The cool morning air took their breath away, unaccustomed to the cold. Looking around, they noticed that the area was certainly war-ready. A roll of barbed wire was strategically set up as a perimeter, where now most of the soldiers were lined.

"Zero hour commences in 15 minutes!" A commanding voice announced.

Al and Scorpius made their way to the front lines, attempting to blend in with the others and not have to endure questioning. They squatted next to soldiers that looked as young and as scared as they did; albeit as young as their new older looking selves did. Scorpius leaned in to Al attempting to think of a plan.

"What do you suspect we do?" He asked.

"Maybe we should wait for 'Zero Hour' whatever that is. It seems pretty important." Al answered.

"I dunno…" Scorpius responded unassuredly.

They waited in silence with the other soldiers, rifles in hand. The only sound that the boys heard was that of shallow breathing; it had an eerie quality to it. The atmosphere of the soldiers was clear, they were quite uneasy.

Suddenly the ground began to rumble quickly followed by deafening blasts ahead of them. Dirt and other debris flew everywhere causing the soldiers to duck. Al's ears were ringing as he ducked as low as possible with Scorpius. Barely audible was the commotion the rest of their company was making. Apparently, the "Zero Hour" was set off sooner than expected. The explosions continued despite their efforts to call anything off.

Without much thought to it, Al grabbed on to Scorpius, as though he was a lightning rod. Scorpius too, was shaking, clearly afraid of his predicament. A quick squeeze from Scorpius on Al's shoulder was a helpful reassurance. However, thoughts of not figuring out what was going on, or even if they would survive, began to cross Al's mind.

Then the explosions seized. The dust and smoke cascading in the air made it hard to see just a few feet in front of them. The aftermath was completely silent; the only sound was that of falling pebbles and the coughs of unlucky soldiers from the debris. Deciding it was safe to look up, Al and Scorpius could only see a cloud of dust and every soldier painted in the same colour of dirt. Once it cleared however, what was once a green and luscious field was now completely unsettled ground, scarred by explosives laden within it.

"Advance men!" The commanding officer yelled out.

Hesitantly the men marched forward, some of them feeling as frightened as Scorpius and Al.

"Here's our chance, follow me." Al whispered to Scorpius.

Following the other soldiers, Al led Scorpius behind and between the other soldiers, slowly meandering to the left side of their line heading east. They hoped to eventually reach the end of the line. Then suddenly gunfire rang through the morning air. The men in front of Scorpius and Al dropped to the ground, screaming in pain.

"Get down!" Someone yelled.

Scorpius and Al got down on all fours, the explosions from earlier had caused the ground to become uncomfortably hot and unstable. The heat alone made it difficult for them to stay in one spot. Scorpius started to breathe frantically, staring at the bleeding soldier in front of him. The soldier was coughing up blood and trying to move off the ground, but he was too weak now. His wide eyes starred at Scorpius, his bloody hand reaching out for help, but like the other men, he went limp.

"We've got to get out of here." He managed to choke out. Despite saying this however his body wasn't responding to his movement.

Al was also having trouble coping with what was happening around him. However, recognising Scorpius' fear, Al's thought to help his friend superseded his fear.

He spoke to Scorpius softly staring him in the eyes, "Do you remember that boy who didn't even hesitate to stop the brother of someone he just met from attacking him?" It wasn't a question. Al began to crawl forward, hoping his friend would follow.

Scorpius did, though still breathing heavily.

"Look at my feet, nothing else," Al called behind him.

Scorpius obeyed, there was too much death going on around him to want to look anywhere else anyway.

Finally reaching the end of their regiment's line, Al stopped and stood up. "I think we can make our way out of here," He ducked behind a small dune to afford some cover, with Scorpius next to him. Al pulled out a compass from his belt sack. "Let me see. Let's head northwest, we'll be away from the fighting, and I'm sure we'll find someone or something." He put the compass away and started in that direction.

Scorpius followed behind and began a quick pace in their intended direction. They made a brisk pace for a few minutes, when suddenly, behind them, they could hear someone yelling.

"Deserters! Come back here, you swine!"

Both boys panicked and ran as fast as they could, never looking back. After putting good distance between them and the voice, they slowed down

Suddenly a gunshot fired behind them, followed by Al yelling in pain and crumpling to the ground. Fearing it was the same soldier who called after them, Scorpius crumpled to the ground, scared for his life. It was the enemy who had spotted them, however. The man who had fired the shot looked pleased with himself and reloaded his gun as he approached the two boys. He didn't get the chance however, as he was shot by someone else.

Their saviour walked up the hill towards them as Scorpius ran over to his friend.

"They saw you desertin' us," he said with a thick accent. "I reckon I couldn't find you two though, the penalty for desertin' being court martial and death by firin' squad and all. So get on, get out of here before they come lookin' for yah!"

Scorpius nodded in thanks towards the man and knelt next to his friend trying to figure out what to do. The old man who had saved them walked back from where he came.

"Al! Are you okay? Hey, get up! What happened did you fall?" Scorpius asked, in a pleading voice. He wasn't aware of what muggle weapons were capable of, thus he didn't know why Al was in terrible pain.

Al was clutching his ankle, attempting to staunch any blood billowing out. After the initial bout of intense pain, he attempted to staunch the area further with fabric from his pants, only to scream out in more pain due to the pressure. Breathing heavily he was only dimly aware of the world around him, the numbing pain was the only thing on his mind. Then he felt someone begin to shake him gently, it was Scorpius, or at least he thought so.

"Hey Al, what do you want me to do, what happened?" Scorpius was nearly panicking.

"Shot… Mu-muggle weapon. Look for a bandage." Al managed to moan.

Scorpius opened his own belt sack and rummaged through the items until he found some gauze. He pulled it out and as best as he could, tightly wrapped it around Al's ankle.

"Are you okay to stand?" Scorpius asked unassuredly.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Al replied, still grimacing from the pain.

He applied most of the pressure on his good leg as he stood with Scorpius' help, and tested his other. He winced in pain and Scorpius had to tighten his grip to prevent Al from falling over again.

Awkwardly at first, Scorpius supported Al as best he could as they began walking. It was a slow process, but they soon had a rhythm going and headed in their chosen direction. The uneven terrain didn't make their journey any easier though and they both knew it would take longer than usual to get to any destination.

It wasn't until an hour later that they came upon a trail, with which they both presumed, the army used as a main line. The two of them hoped it would lead to civilisation.

Without warning, Al and Scorpius tripped over their clothes. They hit the ground, knocking the wind out of their lungs. As this happened a strangely familiar cold wind passed through them. Crumpled on the ground, they looked at each other confused.

"What was that?" Al asked, attempting to get up.

"Not sure," Scorpius responded, trying to extricate himself from his own gear.

They both took a double take on each other again, however as they got up from the ground.

"Do you reckon… we're us again. Like us us?" Al asked looking at a now younger Scorpius.

"You mean not tall and older looking? Seems so," Scorpius said sticking out an arm and showing the disparity in size of the coat and his arm.

Having transformed to their regular 11-year-old selves again, they took off the bigger offending clothes and rolled up their pant legs and sleeves. They tore the fabric from some of the bigger clothes to use as filler for their shoes, as they were now too big for them. Once they were satisfied, they continued to follow the beaten path, Scorpius still having to support his friend.

"What the ruddy hell is going on, do you reckon?" Al panted. "I mean why make us look older and then make us young again and why even here and now?"

"I don't know," Scorpius said solemnly, he knew he was smart for his age, but this was even too confusing for him. He didn't like thinking about their predicament. He instead focused on just thinking to help his friend in walking.

The small talk didn't last though as they were already quite fatigued. They did put great distance between them and their starting point though, as they could no longer hear gunshots or explosions.

"You know, I never found out where we were," Al said suddenly.

"We'll find out soon enough," Scorpius said stopping. They had walked for ten exhausting slow hours and just reached a top of a hill overlooking some civilisation. He pointed at a village up ahead. "I say we just start knocking on all the doors until we get someone."

"Great cause my foot is killing me," Al said, nonplussed.

They continued forward until they found themselves in front of a farm homestead. Scorpius rapped a three-leaf clover shaped doorknocker and no sooner, got a response.

"Bonjour?" A man asked, opening the door. He looked quite tired.

France was the first location that came to the boys' minds.

Having not planned further than knocking on doors, Scorpius proceeded the best he could. "Er, hi, we speak English."

"Wiz de army?" The man asked, and then he narrowed his eyes on Al and seeing the bandaged foot. "Does dis friend of yours need help? I am a doctor."

"Really?" Scorpius asked surprised. "That saves us time." Out of all the homes they could have knocked on, Scorpius was bemused that the first one happened to be someone they were looking for.

"Come in and help him on ze table in dis room." The doctor allowed them entry and pointed them to a white room just off the foyer full of medical equipment. "I will get my zings."

Scorpius helped Al on to the table. He backed away as the doctor came in with his equipment.

He sat down next to Al and pulled away the gauze. "What is your name, boy?" He asked.

"Al," responded, flinching as the gauze was removed. "And that's – ah, Scorpius."

"You two are much too young for de army, yes?" The doctor pointed out.

Scorpius wasn't sure what a plausible alibi would be for their predicament, however the doctor did not pause for an answer, he was too busy attending to Al.

"Al, dis will hurt," The doctor continued. The doctor proceeded to do his doctoral duty.

Despite Al's groans of pain and the blood work involved, Scorpius was interested in seeing what a muggle doctor could do to help Al. Had this man been a Healer instead, all foreign objects would be removed and Al's ankle would be healed within an hour. They did not have this luxury of the magical hospital however.

Scorpius was always excited to go to St. Mungos when he was younger. His father would bring him there at times, on business, often losing him somewhere in the hospital. Scorpius visited the various wards and patients curious about the various maladies, cures and research involved. It was some of the few times he felt free, as his father always preferred to keep a close eye on him. In his upbringing, his parents preferred to keep him in the Malfoy Manor estate. His father did like to be protective of his only son, and Scorpius understood it. Thus, it would come to no surprise when Scorpius would go about searching the hospital corridors for his father instead.

Once the doctor was finished stitching Al up, he left the room again and returned with a crutch.

"Put no pressure on dis foot." The doctor ordered.

Al got up and tested his new crutch careful not to bear any weight on his fixed ankle. It was awkward as he walked around but he managed.

"Do you have a home?" The doctor asked as he cleaned his supplies.

At this Scorpius could only shake his head.

The doctor sighed, "My son fights in ze war, you can stay 'ere. I have my wife make ready ze rooms." He walked out of the medical office, leaving Al and Scorpius.

"Do you think it's okay to stay here?" Al asked.

"I don't see why not, it'll be easier once your foot heals up." Scorpius replied

"Yeah I suppose…" Al said, he was elated and fatigued and only now was it really catching up.

The doctor returned to the room. "We have places up the stairs and clothes of my son as well." He led them upstairs (Al taking a little longer) and showed them the room they would be staying in. "Take bath, den we eat." He pointed out the bathroom then headed back down the stairs.

A lone bed stood in the middle of the room. The room itself was clean and for a room belonging to a young man, was quite boring. There didn't seem to be any personalisation, as though the room hadn't been used in years. The boys noticed two pairs of clothes on top of the bed. Scorpius grabbed the pair of maroon knickerbockers leaving Al with the white sailor suit. Scorpius couldn't help but laugh.

"Sure, let the cripple take the more humiliating clothes!" Al chided.

"Who knows, you're probably more fashion forward anyway." Scorpius joked.

"Though it's still better than carrying bloody military clothes around." Al reasoned.

"True, though I was getting attached to the bloody and muddy pants." Scorpius joked weakly.

Al gave a somber smile and left to go wash up. His muscles, after a ten-hour walk, felt like they were on fire.

Despite knowing the location of the bathroom, it was another ordeal trying to figure out how to properly turn on the hot water and get the bath ready. After some trial and error (and pipe groaning), he figured out how to use the bathtub. Settling in, he managed to relax, letting the heat of the water ease his muscles, careful not to get his stiches wet. In his calmness, Al's thoughts carried to their predicament. Neither he nor Scorpius knew or understood what was happening, or why they were here in this time and place, but Al figured there must have been some sort of purpose.

Al was also concerned for his friend, like himself; there was so much to cope with. Small jokes and quips could only carry them so far, even if it did help forget what they had witnessed upon coming into this strange world.

Once he was all cleaned and changed, Scorpius took his turn. This gave a chance for Al to explore their room. The plain unassuming room didn't seem to be a boy's room at all. While Al's better judgement told him not too, his curiosity led him to opening the various drawers and cabinets around the room. They were completely empty. Al snapped out of his investigation however, when Scorpius came back into the room, looking like a 20th century muggle. Al couldn't help and smile at him. It was strange to see a Malfoy wearing staunchly muggle clothing after all. Once they were ready, they headed downstairs together.

They met the doctor and his wife at the dining room table waiting for them. They had prepared some stew and bread.

As they ate, the doctor explained that larger food provisions were being kept for the soldiers. He also apologized that the clothes the boys were wearing, was a bit too formal, but was the only pair of clothes they had and that could fit them. They had sent any other spare clothes they had to seamstresses with whom would remodel the clothes for the war. Most of what the doctor talked about was news of the war which didn't really improve on the boys' moods.

Meanwhile, the doctor's wife seemed all too happy to be a hostess. Perhaps because of the fact they had guests, she was jovial in listening to the boys talk, even if she couldn't understand them.

A thought hadn't occurred to Scorpius until now. "Er sir, we don't even know your name."

"Ah yes, 'scuse. My name iz Monsieur Laurent, and my wife iz Madame Laurent."

"A pleasure, Monsieur Laurent and Madame Laurent." Scorpius said extending his hand.

Al extended his own hand, happy to give a proper greeting. What they did miss though was the single tear falling from Madame Laurent's face as she turned around to clean the dishes.

Later, as they prepared for bed, the boys commented in how little the couple seemed to be suspicious of them. They supposed that with the war going on so close by, that as supposed vagrant children, they were assumed as orphans, and needed help. They didn't want to dwell too much on their suspicions though, as the hospitality they received was beyond what they could have imagined.

With both tucked in the single bed, they stared at the ceiling, reflecting on the day.

"What I don't understand is why here and why during this time." Al said suddenly, he felt like he was getting something off his chest. However, asking the question a second time didn't deter his unease.

"I don't know…" Scorpius said solemnly. He wanted this conversation and its answer as much as Al, but it didn't resolve anything. It was like going in circles.

"Why did we wake up as our older looking, and why at that army front?" Al pondered yet again.

"Remember that book you were reading on the train when we met?" Scorpius questioned suddenly sitting up as though he had hit a hopeful ephiphany.

"The time turner one, yeah, I leant it to Molly. What about it?" Al asked.

"Was there anything about going this far back into the past?"

"No, not really, most of the book talked about safe uses, and people using it for no more than going back a day into the past. Many of the accounts of the people who did die, were either seen as rumours, or the author assumed something went wrong. But it also said that wizards have been playing with time for at least a thousand years… I mean anything could have happened since then." Al said.

"And all I remember is feeling something heavy on my shoulders before waking up. Was there anything in your book about that?" Scorpius asked.

Al frowned in the dark, "No," he said simply.

"How-" Scorpius yawned, "Are we going to figure this out? I bet father would know…"

"I don't know," Al admitted.

They drifted off into an uneasy sleep without another comment, their fatigued bodies no longer staying awake.

* * *

Once they were properly recuperated, and over the next few days, Al and Scorpius decided to help around the house as much as they could. They figured it was the least they could do, and the couple was happy for it. Moreover, it helped keep their mind off things too.

To avoid causing further injury to his ankle, Al was tasked to aid Madame Laurent, which involved mostly simple tasks around the kitchen. He learned a great deal on how to prepare various types of food and she seemed pleased to have him as company. She would often hum songs that made Al think of home.

Meanwhile Scorpius accompanied Monsieur Laurent to help the sick at the local hospital in the nearby town of Amiens. He was excited in checking out a muggle hospital.

Upon changing the bandages to Al's ankle on the seventh day of their stay, the doctor was surprised to see it was fully healed. The Doctor had expected Al's ankle to take at least 3 weeks to make a full recovery, and was thus amazed by it. Al and Scorpius secretly knew that accidental magic must have played some part, but they didn't say anything. The doctor was pleased all the same and the stiches were removed.

The two boys really enjoyed the hospitality, yet they knew it was time to move on. In their many talks at night, the boys figured their best course of action was heading to, Hogsmeade and respectively Hogwarts to get some definitive answers.

Al brought it up to the doctor and his wife one night, and while trying to remain inconspicuous asked, the doctor what the best way to London was.

The old doctor stared pensively at Al, but he didn't say anything at first, instead, giving a swift glance and a frown towards his wife. The doctor sighed. "Ze best way is from Calais, der you can take a boat to England. Ze military is using it lots too."

"Thanks," Scorpius said. "We would like to leave tomorrow if possible."

The doctor looked at his wife again, smiled and nodded. "We will help, we will make preparations."

That night while lying in bed, Al and Scorpius could overhear the couple talk to each other, broken up by the wife sobbing quietly.

By the next morning, they were prepped and ready to go. The doctor had given them rucksacks with things he could spare. This included some survival tools, extra food and other necessities. The boys left the guns behind though as they did not feel comfortable in using or carrying them. They were also given a small amount of Francs for their journey. Lastly, the doctor handed them two train tickets destined for Calais which he said is where there would be ferries that could take them to London.

Al and Scorpius waved to the couple and began to head towards the town of Amiens.

They didn't get far when Madame Laurent called back to them. "Non, mes fils!"* She ran towards them sobbing, followed by her husband trying to comfort her.

"I am sorry," he said, looking at the boys. "I was not truthful. My son was in ze war, but he has died two years ago. My wife is ehm, quite sad." He spoke to her in French to reassure her.

She took a deep breath, pulled away slightly from her husband, retrieved a small toy boat the size of a thumb from her pocket, and handed it to Al.

"Peut-il y avoir bonne chance pour votre voyage,"** she said between sobs. She knelt in front of both boys and gave them a kiss each on their foreheads.

The doctor knew he didn't have to translate for the boys. They understood the meaning of her gesture and what it meant for her. She stood back up, and despite a wet face, smiled graciously, happy for a change.

* * *

"You know… " Scorpius admitted, "I felt as though I didn't want to leave there at all."

"Yeah I feel the same…" Al pondered.

"Our whole time here has been strange…" Scorpius commented. "It doesn't make sense at all."

"Well at least we're together; I'd be lost without you probably." Al smiled at his friend.

Scorpius went past that. "And to think we haven't even used magic at all."

Al rolled his eyes and put his arm around his friend. "Come on, we're almost there."

They finally got to the train station in the town of Amiens and boarded the train to Calais. The journey wasn't too long. The boys enjoyed seeing the French countryside to pass the time. Though they still couldn't help having an impending fear of everything going wrong, they still looked up to each other despite being on their own again.

They finally reached their destination of Calais, this more industrial city, held less signs of the war but was still quite lively with all the people about.

"Where do you figure we go to now?" Scorpius asked. They were outside of the station attempting to get their bearings.

"We can try to find some docks," Al suggested.

They decided to travel north after looking at a map at the train station. They realised it wouldn't take them long as they were already near the English channel.

"You know, I've never actually left England, now that I think about it," Scorpius suddenly commented.

"Now you realise this?" Al chuckled.

"I'm sure it was the first thing I thought of when I woke up in that tent," Scorpius said sarcastically.

Al responded by smiling sheepishly.

They finally found their way to the docks. They intended to look for the British envoy and then go from there; however, there were a good number of ships. To narrow their results, they looked around and managed to find someone that knew a little English. The man led the boys to a captain of one of the fleet's vessels to the British Royal Navy.

Thanking the Frenchman, Al decided to try his luck with the Captain who was busy ordering his men around. "Er, is this where we can get aboard to get to England?" He asked.

The Navy officer smiled, "you looking to recruit, sonny?" The officer took notice of Al's Sailor Suit outfit. "They don't allow children in the navy, mind." He said more seriously.

"We just need to get back to England," Al reasoned.

"I'm afraid the English Channel is closed off to civilians right now. We need it for supply chains, see." The officer said.

"But-" Al attempted.

"And don't be getting ideas; all us Captains check from bow to stern for stowaways what with the Germans running amuck. It's best if you find someone to stay with here for now until this blows over." The Captain walked off mumbling something about vagrant children, not waiting for a response from Al.

"Now what?" Scorpius asked, beginning to look dismayed.

"If only I had my dad's invisibility cloak…" Al sighed.

"We have to figure out something," continued Scorpius.

"Or may a disillusionment charm…" Al wasn't paying attention, too distraught to have come all this way.

"Al! What do we do now?" Scorpius yelled. He was panicking again.

"Calm down, we'll think of something, we'll be fine." Al put his hand on his friend's shoulder in attempt to reassure him.

Scorpius knocked it off with his own arm. "No it ruddy well will not! We're stuck here in this stupid muggle world, in this stupid past, and we don't have a stupid means to contact any other stupid wizard, and we're bloody homeless!"

It was clear to Al that Scorpius wanted to vent for some time, and Al just let him. Finally, Scorpius sighed in frustration.

"Scorpius, I know you're angry, I am too, and I wanna get out of here, but you gotta calm down, others may hear." Al inclined.

"I'm not angry… I just," Scorpius sighed unclenching his fists, which he hadn't realised he clenched to begin with. "I'm scared Al…"

During their school year thus far, Scorpius had never shown much if any signs of unwaivering, he was always calm and collected. And now here he was shaking miserably in both of their predicaments. Al wondered himself why he didn't feel more distraught, he figured it was because he was with someone he knew or something else. However, what he did know is that Scorpius needed someone to inspire hope and confidence; his mother would have done the same. He decided to give Scorpius a hug. Unprecedented by Al's action, Scorpius didn't know how to react, he just sobbed.

"I am too Scorpius, but we'll figure something out. Together! We're still alive after all." Al let go of his friend and turned towards the Channel.

Al sat down on the edge, watching the view. Scorpius sat next to him and they watched the sun set. For them, the sun felt like a small reprieve for all they've been through. It was at least something timeless and familiar despite the world they were in currently.

"What do you think Hogwarts is like right now, anyway?" Scorpius wondered.

"Probably pretty much the same as it is now, just different teachers." Al said simply.

"That's not very exciting," Scorpius chuckled.

"Did you say Hogwarts?" A voice asked behind them.

"Uhmm." Scorpius said, he wasn't sure he should respond, just in case in whomever it was, was asking the question. Al and Scorpius turned around to find a short stout old man wearing billowing blue robes.

Acknowledging and attempting to disseminate any further skepticism, the man produced a wand. "Shouldn't you two be there, yourselves? You look to be about a student's age. He squinted his eyes towards the pair.

"We've er, had some complications," Al said, choosing his words carefully.

"Well you're just in luck then, I happen to be going to Beauxbatons to make some deliveries, but the darned war has made travel quite difficult. I can't apparate, see, so I'm searching for a designated portkey." The old man began to rummage around the area he had been in before overhearing the boys. "Ah there it is!" The old man picked up a single leather boot that was in total disrepair. "You're welcome to come along."

Realising this was a magical opportunity, the two boys grinned at each other, and ran over to the old man placing their own hands on the portkey, not giving a thought to unintended consequences.

"I reckon it should activate in two min-" He got cut-off however, as they were suddenly pulled into the portkey. The man landed with a noticeable ease, whereas Al and Scorpius lay crumpled on the ground on top of each other, trying to recover gracefully. When they were finished, they looked around; they had made it inside the French school.

"Welcomes to Beauxbatons Monsieur- uhm." A house elf squeaked. It had the intention to greet the old man per his delivery, but was surprised to see two children there as well.

"Here you are," the old man said, ignoring the elf's confusion. He handed over a thick envelope.

The house elf took the envelope but still stared indignantly at the two boys, who had finally recovered from their disorientation from the transportation and were now curiously looking around.

"These two will need food and drink and a night's stay I reckon, they're two English wizards affected by the muggle war. Homeless I suspect." The old man motioned his hand towards the two boys.

"I speak wiz ze Directeur." The elf squeaked and bowed, exiting the front entrance.

The old man winked at them and proceeded to leave, heading towards the front entrance.

"Wait!" Al called back, "We didn't get to thank you! You didn't tell us your name either."

The man opened the front entrance and turned around. "Of course I didn't," he said smiling, closing the door behind him.

This left Al and Scorpius alone in the front entrance, wearing muggle clothes and otherwise looking out of place.

"Well this is awkward," Scorpius commented, attempting conversation.

Al was too enamoured by their current location ton continue Scorpius' line of thought. He'd only heard of Beauxbaton from his aunt. She never went into detail, but always claimed it to be better looking than Hogwarts. Al disagreed, but the white walls and white marble floor were certainly beautifully crafted.

Finally, the elf came back with its answer. "Follow me sirs, Gigi shows you Directeur's guest rooms."

The house elf led the boys to two rooms besides each other, set away from the rest of the hustle and bustle of the school. They were given a fresh set of Wizarding clothes of Beauxbatons colours; albeit still quite unfashionable for their tastes, and the elf showed them other relevant amenities. The house elf also told them that supper would be in two hours, and that the Directeur hoped they wouldn't cause any trouble while they were guests at the school. Before he could leave however, Al thought of a question.

"Er sir, where is the entrance to the floo network?"

"Directeur has de supply. Gigi is not allowed there." The elf squeaked, almost defensively.

Al thanked the elf, and it bowed scurrying off to do something else. The boys agreed to meet up in half an hour, for supper. They went to their respective rooms and got ready for their evening.

Al was careful in making sure to keep the toy boat with him, he looked at it in detail rubbing it through his fingers. It was a simple red painted wooden boat. He assumed it had once belonged to Madame Laurent's son. Looking at it made him think of home, he shuddered and pocketed it in the new outfit he was wearing.

Now that both of them were wearing somewhat more familiar wizarding attire, they headed together to the dining hall where the other students congregated. The beauty of the room was just as astounding as front entrance. It was different in the fact that the white marble was also adorned with fragrant flowers. To both boys' amazement small pixies were fluttering about as well. Even the setups of the tables were different. Unlike Hogwarts, the students of Beauxbatons were divided by men on one side and women on the other. The faculty was in the centre of the room sitting at a round table.

A couple of male students waved them over to two empty seats on the men's side. The two boys obliged and walked over, glad that despite the busy hall, they were not made the centre of attention. The French boys had been informed of the two, and tried to make conversation with them in broken English. The small talk was nice, but the food was what really caught Al and Scorpius

They ate delicate and rich French cuisine, which included bouillabaisse, crepes, creme brulee, foie gras and baguettes. Like Hogwarts, the boys could only see a sample size in front of them, as the tables were adorned with an assortment of other foods. Al was familiar with some of it at least, because of his aunt's cooking.

Despite the slight language barrier, the boys learned that the school was divided into two larger dorms for both men and women, and there were four people to a room regardless of year they started in. The first year boy named Francois that they spoke to most, was disappointed with this, as he was quite enamoured by a first year girl whom he told was a Veela. Jokingly, both Al and Scorpius chided, that Francois shouldn't hold back and go talk to her.

Whilst engrossed in their conversation, the Directeur had managed to surreptitiously come between them for the purpose of speaking with the two boys. It came to a bit of shock to Al, as he attempted to refrain from choking on his drink, when the Directeur first thanked the first year boy, referring to him as "Monsieur Delacour".

Attempting to compose himself, Al answered the man's question on what they would like to do. The Directeur agreed that they would be allowed to use the floo network as per Al's request. However, because of his busy schedule, he expected them to come to his office at nine o'clock sharp tomorrow morning. He gave directions to his office and wished them a good night, heading out of the dining hall.

Once finished with their food, the boys waved good-bye to Monsieur Delacour, wished him luck and headed back to Al's room.

After closing the door, Al couldn't contain himself any longer. "You know that boy we were talking to? He's my aunt's grandpa! I'm sure of it!"

"What? Really?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah… This is so weird, just imagine seeing an old relative of yours." Al said.

"Guessing by how my family used to be, I'd bet they'd only be interested in if our line was still 'pure'." Scorpius frowned.

"Still, it's so weird…" Al continued.

"So we floo to Hogsmeade, then what?" Scorpius asked, changing the subject.

"Find a way to get to Hogwarts I guess. Though let's go to the Hog's Head, I remember reading that it's quite old, so there's a good chance of us getting there," Al responded.

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait, why didn't I think of this sooner? We can't do that! I just realised something!" Scorpius smacked his hand on his forehead, while Al looked at him in attention. "Wouldn't we be messing around with time? I mean you saw your aunt's brother's uncle or something, right? What if we see someone or change something?"

At this, Al brightened up. "We're in luck, that time turner book I was reading, it gave a small idea in how time turners work."

"Oh?" Was all Scorpius could say.

"What it said was that the past already happened, so whatever we do now has already happened in our own time." Al said smartly.

"I don't get it," Scorpius shrugged.

"Well there can be no consequences! Cause well, if we didn't mess up time now, then that means nothing was messed up in our own time. You never heard about two boys who claimed to be stuck in the past who looked like us, have you?" Al reasoned.

"No, you're right… I guess…" Scorpius half-heartedly agreed, unsure of what to make of Al's explanation.

"We can do no wrong," Al continued raising his arms. "We're like Gods of time…"

"Well you would make a great Adonis," Scorpius joked.

"A what?" Al asked.

"Never mind," Scorpius chuckled again throwing a pillow at his friend. "It's getting late, I'm gonna head to bed

* * *

The next morning they got up and found their way to the Directeur's door. In front was a giant statue of a merman. It was holding a trident, and as the boys approached, it took up a defensive position ready to spear anyone who would come near. The boys, unsure of what to do, remained at a bit of a distance until at exactly nine o'clock, when the entrance finally opened.

"Good morning," the Directeur said, stepping out from his office. He motioned for them to go in first, and followed them right after. The Merman seemed disappointed, as though he did not get to impale the intruders.

The Directeur gave them a pinch each of floo powder and led them over to the fireplace. The boys thanked the Directeur for his hospitality, and proceeded to use the floo network.

Scorpius went first, followed by Al. Despite being in another time, Al was finally glad to go somewhere that was remotely like home. He felt the familiar green flames engulf him as he shouted the destination.

He had traveled through floo network before so the experience wasn't as disorienting as portkeys. Finally the whirling stopped and Al stepped out at the correct location.

The tavern was as dark as usual, and the atmosphere complimented it as such. Al looked around for signs of Scorpius, but there was no indication that he came here at all. Noticing some movement, Al looked up at the cause of his attention. It was only the barman.

"I ain't servin' no minor today, eh?" He said simply. It wasn't a question.

"Er, you haven't seen another person, blonde hair, my age, have you?" Al asked, concern in his voice.

"What is this, more kids not following rules these days?" The barman retorted and walked back into his kitchen.

Al was trying not to panic…

* * *

*No, my sons!

**May there be good luck on your journey.


End file.
